Lilian stared at John with an indifferent expression, as if she were still within the arena, battling fiercely against Zeras. That indifference slowly faded away as her battle-lust faded away, which had taken some time to happen.
A small smile appeared on her face as she felt the weight of the previous battle, as well as her death-feud with Zeras, finally fade away.
"Thanks," she said, her voice slightly tired. It was clear she was not yet close to fully recovered from such an arduous battle.
She sat down next to John, who sat down as well immediately after. The two remained silent for a moment, as if John was giving her time to gather her thoughts.
"How do you feel?" he eventually asked.
"Fine," Lilian replied with a single word, and then glanced sideways at John. She saw him staring at her with a piercing expression, as if he didn't buy such indifference from her at all. She had just killed her brother after all, one she had previously loved, but now hated more than anyone else, except perhaps for her father.
"Tired. Pained," she added truthfully, "but also relieved. My hate for Zeras faded away with his death, and I think I'll be able to remember him fondly, if only a little bit."
John raised an eyebrow but said nothing. He did not expect for Lilian to seemingly forgive Zeras' betrayal. The master he knew was cold, callous, and unfeeling, but perhaps there was more to her than he knew at the moment. Perhaps that was just an outer-shell to protect herself from future betrayals as Zeras' had done. If she trusted no one, no one could betray her.
"Well, you definitely do look tired," John replied, lightening the mood a little bit.
"Do I now?" Lilian asked questioningly, her face stern, as if John's reply had been an insult. John was caught off guard for a second, but then realized Lilian was joking as her stern face faded away into a small smile again.
"Tch," John clicked his tongue in self-frustration for not seeing through his master's words and actions. She was always hard to judge on what she was truly feeling and thinking.
"So what did you think? Was the performance of your lowly master befitting of heaven's greatest disciple?" Lilian asked, her voice tinged with sarcasm.
John scoffed at her words, as she was clearly bringing this up because John had mentioned his victory of this trial was guaranteed, and nothing could change that. It was indirectly yet directly saying that he was the most talented genius here, as well as the strongest when it came to normalized cultivations.
For someone like Lilian, who had been a pinnacle genius her entire life, hearing someone say a thing like that to her was a bit hard to believe. She had full confidence in her talent and combat prowess, and although she had seen John fight before, she had not seen him fight in the last few years, and had also never seen him truly go all out.
As had been shown in her battle with Zeras', comprehension level played just as large a role in battle as other aspects of cultivation, and her comprehension level was no doubt higher than John's due to her higher age and cultivation.
With those things in play, she was curious if he was still of the same opinion as before.
John scoffed again, not wanting to play along with her jests.
"I'll admit you were very amazing," he said truthfully, "beyond amazing even. I've never seen anything like it before."
"Wow, what prestigious words of praise from the heaven's number one genius," Lilian replied, her voice still slightly playful. "I will wear such praise like a badge of honor."
"All right, all right, you don't have to be such an ass about it," John grumbled. "You are much stronger than I thought you would be. In fact, unless he's done something heaven-defying, you might even be able to beat Asuros if you unleash that final attack again."
"Oh? I 'might' be able to beat Asuros?" Lilian raised an eyebrow.
John shrugged. It had been a year since he had fought Asuros. Who knew what the Asura bestowed on Asuros during that time. Asuros had lost to John in the past when he had a higher cultivation in their fight, and yet now with normalized cultivations, he still stared at John with absolute confidence. There was no doubt a reason for that confidence, which made John unsure of just how strong Asuros had grown in the last year.
"So if I 'might' beat Asuros, and you 'will' beat Asuros, that means you still don't think I have a chance against you, despite what you just witnessed?" Lilian asked curiously.
"Was that final spatial art the strongest you can unleash it, or can you make it stronger?" John asked after remaining silent for a short while. When he had felt that spatial freezing art, he had felt his heart stop for a moment. It was the most profound art he had ever seen, and even he felt it would have been nearly-impossible to break free from.
But his instincts were sharp, and he knew that everything had its limits. Lilian might have frozen space there, but pure power was able to shatter anything if it was strong enough, even space itself. With his full might, he felt as though he would be able to break free of that spatial prison.
"That was the strongest version I can release," Lilian replied after a moment's silence. "And even then, it nearly destroyed me. My meridians are fractured to the point that it will take months to fully heal, so I wouldn't be able to use it against you today."
"So it's like that," John mumbled, his mind going to his bloodline ability. Lilian's spatial art was practically on the same level of profundity, or at least very near to his bloodline ability, and both were so powerful their bodies could hardly handle it.
"Then if that's the case..." John's voice trailed off, deep in his thoughts. His mind cleared up, and his firm gaze locked onto Lilians. "As you did today, I'll let my actions prove my words. When I battle Asuros, you'll see for yourself just how strong I really am."
